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didn't we even get a badge for playing during the second anniversary of launch?
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Celebrant was for the first anniversary.
Pardon, then, point conceded and won. I used the the term improperly.
I shall endeavor not to use it again for six months or so. I started playing a month or so before the launch of issue 2. Give or take a cpl weeks.
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I've been playing for YEARS,
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Uh huh... years... which is the plural of year, which means by definition two years or more. Since the game hasn't been out for more than two years, that comment is impossibly false.
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The "playing for years" quote could refer to playing MMORPGs for years. Since the subject being discussed is "how to lead" experience with leading MMORPG groups in general could be relevant even if some of that experience is with other systems.
Edit--nevermind, nothing to see here (just read OPs concessionary post). 
Pinnacle
Glowworm * Brrr * Lilinoe
Protector
Kid Trance * Ms. Impala * Red Helen
Virtue
Pooka Pete
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Hate to say it, but, yes, City of Heroes is about 1 year 8 months old, it was released on April 27th, 2004. Following is a link that lists that date along with a review of the 'new' game.
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/city-of-heroes/
So come April 28th next year, then you can factually say that you have been playing for yearS, assuming that you started playing on the date that the game launched. 
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not that it matters one way or the other, but it is proper to use the plural for any time over a year and years neednt be delineated only by integers, 1.5 years would be correctly plural.
edit just to be on topic: i find nothing more frustrating that a leader who is unwilling to answer a question or worse, to actually select a mish. you can often find these idiots saying things like "just follow me to the mish". if someone asks "what are we doing" is it really that hard to say "hunt skuls" or "door missions" or " mish is up" or even "sec, still looking"?
Well, playing other MMORPGs for years is part of the problem for COH players. Not saying that's his case (I'm not even on the same server, so I can't judge), but I've grouped with people where that was the whole problem: they tried to play COH like it's EQ or WoW. People come with their tactics already formed around what works in EQ or WoW whatever, e.g., that priest=healer, then figure out an inexact defender=priest. And a lot of other such mis-expectations.
The finer points of buffing, debuffing, draining and status effects are lost on them. (And I don't mean just in their own team. You see some people at level 45 who still haven't figured out how to deal with Nemesis Lts' Vengeance, or with Ring Mistresses in a Carnie mish, or the rare idiot who still attacks the Zeus Titan before the the Sapper, because their mommy... err... EQ taught them to kill the boss before the minions. And their _only_ conclusion there is "we need one more healer." Or still haven't figured out why the whole group comes when they pull the boss.) They've already got their YEARS of experience with something utterly irrelevant to COH, and aren't gonna let some newbie question their experience and authority.
And some can make it all the way to 50 by doing the wrong thing again and again, since even in perpetual debt and between frequent hospital runs the xp bar still moves (slowly) forward.
In practice, a lot of things work differently enough, or can work if you step outside the EQ mindset.
E.g., to take Radiation alone as an example, while Buffer Overrun is an _excellent_ example of what it can do in overkill amounts, I'm going to illustrate what a single Rad Defender can do. Incidentally, it also illustrates what you can make work well on those days where you don't have a wide assortment of Empaths and Tankers just waiting around for you to invite them.
I've been in 3 AV teams in I6 which consisted of 1 rad defender, 1 regen scrapper, 2 blasters. (As far as it gets from "we can't do this without 1 tank, 1 empath, 6 blasters", right?) The AVs were Dr. Vazhilok at +1 levels, Nemesis Rex at +1, and Bile at +2. (Ok, ok, not exactly Infernal material, but still AV, right?) For Papa-Doc Vazhilok I was the rad defender, for the other two I was the regen scrapper. _Without_ MOG, so just a regenner.
In all 3 cases, there was no problem for the scrapper to tank the debuffed AV, and noone died in the whole mission. I'll admit that there was a moment at Bile when my IH and DP ran out and I thought "that's it, I'm dead, I should have taken MOG after all" Strangely enough I didn't die, though the defender deserves the credit for that.
And it's not just that he was debuffed, it's also that between the Defender's Choking Cloud and the Ice Blaster's Freeze Ray and Bitter Freeze Ray, Bile was held half the time. So in fact, it shows another deviation from the "take Defenders only for healing, take Blasters when you need more damage." In this case a Blaster was used to help limit the incoming damage.
Or here's an even funkier team I remember from an old (maybe I4) TF: all Scrappers, an Empath and a Storm Defender. I tell you, that was some crazy chasing the running enemies around. But they were (A) debuffed to extremes that surprised even me, so they just got felled with a minimal amount of hits, and (B) too busy running around to fight back.
First I want to thank you for this guide. I am very uneasy abotu leading and I tend to be too much of a pushover with the difficult team members.
But I also have to disagree with you here:
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directive 1 - Do not ask people who are not flagged lft.
Pre I6 thats exactly what I did. Post I6, I can no longer rely on the flagging. I have seen too many times when I was LFT and the list did not pick it up, when I searched for myself I found that I was noted as not looking for a team. To counter that I began writing LFT in the message space, and to counter my counter the computer began leaving the space blank instead.
I have to assume that COH isn't targeting me personally and that this happens to others as well.
So I can no longer avoid bothering people who truly are not looking. Unless their message indicates this I do send tells-polite ones-to see if certain players are interested in a team.
The playing for years thing really isn't important. I know that exchange hurt my credibility; but what's worse, to be thought a liar or somone who can't admit when he's wrong?
Regardless, in my mind, it's really more important that people think about and discuss the significance of the star; then get wrapped up in questioning the validity of my resume. Though it is inevitable, some will do both. Oh well, better to be hated for what you are, then loved for what you're not.
Well done!
You have some good points but there is one very important question that you left unanswered. How do you decide the make up of a team?
Also as a tank, I have run invincible 8 person missions since level 35+. People love my teams and love me as a tank. How can I tell? I constantly keep getting tells and many people just flat out say"great team!". Anyone who has played with me remembers me! Even though I log on during odd hours (I live in Dubai, 8 time zones away) I have no trouble leveling my tank. Do we have deaths? You bet, in every mission, at least one person dies. But they don't mind since they lose the debt so fast, they dont even realize that had it.
Also one thing, I hate radio missions, please stop doing it, the exp is not as good and it gets boring!
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The most recent example of this was a cobbled together attempt to do the transcendence trial that I could tell was going to fail before it ever began. 5 blasters, 2 scrappers, and me (an empathy defender). I tried to express myself, but they went forward with it anyway.
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I've never participated in a TF or extended campaign that went WELL that didn't have a 1) solid tank, and 2) solid empath. Period. No exceptions. Sometimes they succeed lacking those elements - but they almost always struggle.
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Heh, I was just on a quickie Transdescence trial last night with my rad def, four blasters, one tank who was strangely reluctant to go into the fights first, a storm controller who either didn't have or didn't use O2, and a scrapper. No invis/recall (though someone did manage to at least get through the troll tunnels and recall us, so we didn't have to do that), so we fought it out. Admittedly, I think a lot of them were 50s like myself, autoexemped down of course, but frankly your Enhancements are pretty crippled exemping down that far so its not like they are real SOs at that point. The leader did bring and suggest bringing a lot of Awakens, but I always suggest that anyway on that mission, just because its SUCH a pain to get back there from a hospital. Did it in about 40 minutes, fair number of deaths but I think a lot of that was 50s not really caring; my debuffs don't work all that well against the critters in there because they run around so much, so I can't take much credit for our eventual success.
And one of the fastest and most fun Synapses I ever did had a SR scrapper as its only melee, otherwise blasters and controllers, none /Emp. Only thing that slowed us down was our End bars, until the /kin controller dinged and got SB.
I do like having a tank on a larger PUG, just because it makes starting the fights much more straightforward with people not used to working with each other, less standing around staring at each other. And I do agree with the need to evaluate what the team has and to try to fill gaps; I've been on def/con teams that screamed along, and other ones that could have really benefited by having a scrapper, say.
This is one of the trickier aspects recruiting-wise for a team leader, IMHO. If you need more damage, you can be fairly sure nabbing a scrapper or blaster will serve, its *really* unlikely someone has built one of those to not, well, put out damage. A tank is a bit riskier these days, its not always true someone has built them for team tanking, but at least you know roughly what to expect from a decent one.
A defender or controller, however, can strongly affect the team dynamic depending on their powerset, in particular the defender part of it, or in the case of the controller how much they've emphasized the control vs defender part. Do you need the baddies grouped, or scattered? If you have a bunch of energy blasters, and get a storm defender, everyone will be in heaven. Get a rad or dark, and frustration for everyone will ensue as anchors get blown everywhere. With a bunch of fire blasters, the reverse may be true, depending on the skill of the Storm. Got a mission with Rikti on catwalks everywhere? Maybe you want a bubble defender, so when people fall off they still have a chance.
Its unlikely you will get to cherrypick as a team leader, but at least be aware of how tactics may need to be reorganized. If I don't have time to check everyones powerset descriptions, I always try to look at the defender/controller ones, so I know whether to expect Clear Minds or Hurricanes.
Oh, and I never hesitate to send tells to people who aren't lft, so long as their search comment is at least vaguely friendly. As the OP suggested, I tell them what we have in mind, and sometimes even roughly who we have on the team already, and get probably a 70-80% hit rate from people not about to log off. Heck, even if you don't want to lead large teams, its usually pretty easy to coordinate a duo, and heroside especially there are a LOT of characters who can make much better speed with a complementary AT.
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directive 1 - NO BLIND INVITES. Ask, always ask. It won't kill you. No conjunctions, no leet speak, no canned macros. FORM A COMPLETE SENTENCE.
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There will always be controversy to this one, but I prefer to be just plain invited, I don't want tells, I don't want begs, I don't want a heads up for what I will be facing, I just want an invite. Nowadays it seems with a lower population it has become harder to get teams, so I'm not picky at all. I try and put up my LFT flag right away but if its down I still want invites in any form I can get them. I'll even stick with a lousy team and give it my best shot to make it successful and if its not working I will still thank them for the team and leave. I don't make up excuses, I simply say why I'm leaving. thats not that hard to do either.
Leaders also have to be good at judging the competency of their teammates and not give them orders on how or when to use their powers. "use dwarf form" or "we're gonna nova this group, I'll tell you when to do it"... Those are my powers and I'll know when its best to use them.
first i want to say this is an outstanding post!
next i have to agree with everything about leading. it's been my experience over the past 3 years that the most challenging and fun teams are the pick up teams - and the best way to find like minded comrades. i feel the number one most important part of 'having the star' is communication!
Rinse/repeat
1) welcome them in! use their name - some players have agonized over it...it is one of 3 things you can truly create.
2) let them know what you plan to do or ask. people tend to get annoyed to join a team and find out they are doing something completely asenine.
3) my personal favorite: make them feel a part of the team. granted, if they arent doing anything - then treat them accordingly. true healers(you know who you are) love to be appreciated, blasters love jaws dropping from nukes, tanks love to hear great herding.
most teams will never push maximum xp on the highest setting. you dont have to - most players are no longer in a mad dash for their first level 50.
In Summation
everyone at this point in the game is for the most part self-sufficient. need a team?(how about would you like to team) really doesnt apply. treat it for what it is - a group of people looking for entertainment and escape during their free - time!
Good guide, but I have one thing to add -
When building a team, you should ask 3 kinds of people -
White (Looking for Any) - These people are most likely to say yes. It's what they want.
Bright Green (Missions - or Blue if doing TF, and so on) - These people will almost always say yes if you are doing what they're asking for.
Gray (Not Seeking) - These people will say yes about 1/3 of the time (as long as you're what they want)
Be careful - If a character's name is green AND they're not seeking, they're already on a team. Asking them is a waste of time.
Hate to say it, but, yes, City of Heroes is about 1 year 8 months old, it was released on April 27th, 2004. Following is a link that lists that date along with a review of the 'new' game.
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/city-of-heroes/
So come April 28th next year, then you can factually say that you have been playing for yearS, assuming that you started playing on the date that the game launched.